Hugh Donovan begins his third year as head coach of the Mighty Mac men’s lacrosse program and Manager of Intramurals during 2016-17.
Donovan became the first Immaculata men's lacrosse mentor to earn Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Coach of the Year honors in 2016. In just his second season at the helm, Donovan guided the Mighty Macs to a 6-10 overall and 2-5 CSAC mark. The six wins were the second-most in program history. Donovan mentored two players on the Second Team All-CSAC (Mike Reardon and Brendan Doyle), as well as Tyler Black, who was Honorable Mention All-CSAC.
In his first season at the helm, the Mighty macs went 4-10 overall and 3-4 in the Colonial Stats Athletic Conference (CSAC). Two players (John Abruzzo and Brendan Doyle) earned Honorable Mention All-CSAC honors for Immaculata.
Donovan came to Immaculata after serving as head coach at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland for the previous four seasons. Donovan compiled a record of 37-29 over his tenure, and earned bids to the Region XX Championships in all four seasons. His team’s best season came in 2013 when Harford went 12-6, advanced to the Region XX Championship game, and later earned an at-large bid into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tournament.
Donovan was a two-time NJCAA Region XX Coaches’ Association Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013.
Donovan also made two stops as an assistant prior to becoming a head coach. He served as an assistant as the defensive coordinator at Bucknell, his alma mater, for two years, and then went to Mount Saint Mary’s as an assistant for two years before entering a professional lacrosse career.
Donovan is currently the head coach for the 2018 Rock Lacrosse Club, an elite high school lacrosse club in Baltimore, Md. He is also the director of the Mid-Atlantic Lacrosse Academy and director of HD Lacrosse.
Donovan served as the director of the Mid-Atlantic Region for the Brine National Lacrosse Classic from 2013 to 2015.
Donovan’s six-year professional career spanned indoor and outdoor leagues for the Baltimore Thunder, Pittsburgh Crossfire, Washington Power, Colorado Mammoth, Philadelphia Wings, and Baltimore Bayhawks. He made five playoff appearances and was on the MLL Championship Baltimore Bayhawk team in 2001.
Before his successful professional lacrosse career, Donovan was a stand-out at Bucknell as a defenseman. He was an Honorable Mention All-American in 1996 as well as the Defensive Player of the Year in the Patriot League. He was First Team All-Patriot League his junior and senior seasons and Second Team All-Patriot League in his sophomore season. Donovan was also a captain his junior and senior season, and a member of the All-Decade Team for the Patriot League in 2000. Later, he was inducted into the Bucknell University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
Donovan earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Bucknell in 1996.
Donovan and his wife, Lauren, live in Havre de Grace, Md. with their three sons, Eamonn, Liam and Miles.
